The 14-story Hesburgh Library dominates the east end of
campus; at 215 feet, it is 15 feet shorter than the Basilica of the
Sacred Heart and 10 feet shorter than the statue of Mary on the
dome. When it was completed in 1963, it was the world’s largest
university library, and although it has been surpassed by others
in size, it contains over 3 million volumes of books, microfilm, and
other research materials. The 14th story contains a penthouse
lounge for use by the president for meetings and dinners. Rev.
Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., for whom the building has been
named since his retirement as president in 1987, maintains an
office on the 13th floor. The south facade of the library displays
the mosaic “The Word of Life,” depicting Christ the teacher surrounded by saints and scholars. Nearly 10 stories high, it is composed of over 7,000 individual pieces of stone gathered from 16 countries and several states. (To give an idea of sheer proportion, the head of Jesus is nine feet high.) It happens to be aligned with the football stadium in such a way that when visible over the north goal post, it appears as though Christ is signaling “touchdown,” which is why it is more commonly referred to as “Touchdown Jesus.”